Things We Lost in the Fire
by pandorabox82
Summary: Only David can cut through the panic Erin feels as she realizes her house is on fire. What will they be able to save as they race to get outside before the fire consumes them all?


Erin woke up to the acrid stench of smoke. Sitting up in bed, she tried to still her racing heart as she looked at David, still sleeping beside her. Slipping out of bed, she padded over to the door and found herself confronted by an even stronger smell and it finally registered that there was a fire in their house.

Rushing over to David's side, she hurriedly shook him awake. "Davie, Davie, wake up! There's a fire!"

He sat up with a groan, frowning unhappily at her until the scent struck his nose as well. "Have you called 911 yet?" he asked as he clambered out of the bed and reached down for his boxers, quickly tugging them on.

"No, I, I just got up. What are we going to do?"

He came up to her side and hugged her quickly, kissing her forehead in an effort to calm her down. "Bella, focus on me. We need to call the fire department and then try and get out of here."

"But what do we grab as we flee?" Panic was still overwhelming her, despite his arms around her waist.

"Whatever we can grab," he replied, picking up his phone and dialing. "Yes, hello, this is David Rossi. Our house is on fire, and we need someone here. Yes, that is the correct address. We're in the upstairs bedroom still, and I haven't opened the door to see where the fire is located. Yes, I understand. Yes, we will. Thank you."

He hung up and tugged on his pants, shoving his and her phone in the pockets. "What about Luna and Artemis? I can't leave them behind!" she wailed as he tugged a t-shirt over her head. Erin beat on his chest, tears finally coming to the forefront. "I can't leave them here to die!"

"Bella, honey, you brought them over to my place last week, so they could get used to Mudgie, remember?" She nodded hesitantly and then took the pajama pants from his hands, stepping into them and covering her body. "Now, we are not going to have a lot of time to get out of here. What would you like to save?"

She shrugged, unable to really think clearly, her mind still focused on the fire. Gently, he shook her and she looked up into his eyes once more. "We haven't even touched the attic. My grandmother's wedding dress is up there. And so many memories."

"We can't save everything, bella. We are going to lose some precious memories here, okay?"

She burst into tears as she nodded. "We probably shouldn't go into the attic. I don't know if we could get out in time." Erin began to shiver and gratefully accepted the sweater he handed to her. "My jewelry box. It has everything in it, still. I packed it last night, since I was planning on taking it with me."

"All right, Erin, I'll grab that. Go over and test the knob of the door. Is it hot?"

She swallowed hard and padded over to the door, reaching out tentatively to touch her fingertips to the brass handle. Even before she made contact, she could feel heat rising from it and she pulled back quickly. "I, I can't touch it, Davie. It's too warm already. Does that mean we can't get out?"

"I don't know, Erin. Here, stuff some clothes in this bag and then toss it out the window."

Somewhere, in the back of her brain, she knew that he was trying to calm her down, to get her focus on something other than the fire that was raging somewhere in her house. Nodding, she ran over to the closet and stuffed the bag as full as she could get before going over to the window, throwing it open, and tossing the bag to the ground.

In the distance, Erin could hear the wail of sirens and she looked to her right, seeing the familiar, comforting, sight of red and white lights flashing. "I can see the fire trucks!" she yelled, turning back to David.

"That's good. Did you get the emergency ladder, like I had asked you?"

She nodded and went over to the closet, rummaging around the mess of shoes at the bottom until her hand came in touch with the bag that held the ladder. "Will you go first, Davie? I don't think that I could do that, I need to be able to look down into your face."

Erin knew that she was babbling by this point, and the fire was beginning to fill their room with heat and smoke, further adding to her panic and confusion. "Yes, honey, I will go down first." He took the ladder from her hands and unrolled it down the side of the house. It didn't take long for him to start going down and she peered out the window, watching him.

Fear was fast filling her heart and she began to shake even more violently. "I, I can't do this, David. I can't."

"Yes, you can, bella. I have faith in you."

She backed away from the window and wildly looked around her bedroom. Her eyes fell on a family picture, taken just a few weeks ago, after she had returned from the hospital and was getting used to living once more. "I can't leave this behind," she murmured, picking up the frame and heading back over to the window. "Catch this, please," she shouted as she tossed it out the window. David quickly grabbed for it as it fell, setting it aside.

"All right, the picture is down, now I want you on the ground with me. Quickly, Erin, before the fire breaks through the door. With the oxygen from the window, you could get seriously hurt. I don't want you in the hospital once more, I just got you back."

Erin nodded, taking a deep breath. She really did not want to make a return trip to the hospital and so, she turned and climbed out of the window, screwing her eyes shut as she made her way down the ladder, trying to imagine David holding on to her as she went. Finally, his hands closed around her waist, and she relaxed back against him, letting him lead her the rest of the way down to the ground.

Once she was on terra firma once more, she turned and hugged him tightly, bursting into sobs. "Shh, love, I have you. You're okay," he whispered in her ear, rubbing her back in slow, soft circles. She tried to nod, but the movement seemed to set off her gag reflex, and she pulled away from him, stumbling over to the closest bush and throwing up.

Falling heavily to her knees, she continued to throw up, and he was there, smoothing her hair back and whispering sweet words of love in her ear. After she had finished, he helped her to stand, and together, they watched her house burn.

At some point, a firefighter came around to the back yard, checking to make sure they were okay. Erin listened to David answering her questions, unable to focus on her words as she watched the destruction of thirty years of her life. Vaguely, she heard one of their phones begin to ring, and she slipped her hand into his pocket, fishing it out. "Hello?" she asked, shocked to hear how shaky her voice sounded.

"Gum Drop! Are you and my Italian Stallion okay? I have an alert set on my phone for whenever one of our addresses calls 911. What's happened?"

Erin once more burst into tears, sagging against her beloved. "My, my house is on fire."

"Do you want me to come there?"

It was typical of her, and Erin smiled a little before answering. "Yes," she whispered, rubbing her cheek against the soft fabric of David's t-shirt. "Please."

"I'll be there in two shakes of a lamb's tail, Gum Drop, I promise."

"Thank you." She hung up and gripped her phone tightly, letting David rub her arm gently as he finished up talking to the woman. "Penelope's coming here."

"That's good to hear. She's good at taking care of people. We need to move out across the street, though, unless you want to get soaked by the hoses." She shook her head and took the bag from his free hand, following him from the yard and across the street. That view was even worse than the one from the backyard, and she sobbed as she saw that her porch, her swing, was fully engulfed in flames. "I'll build you one at our home, I promise."

"It won't be the same. My children carved their initials in that one. That's where my water broke for the first time. Everything has such precious memories attached to it."

"I know, bella, I know. And I cannot replace those. We can only build new ones together."

She nodded against his chest and sighed deeply, turning her face away from the destruction happening. "You have to let me past! I have to get to my Gum Drop! I am a federal agent, you know, despite how I look!"

Erin let out a strangled laugh as she turned towards the sound of her friend's voice. "Penny!"

"Gum Drop, get them to let me in there so I can give you a proper hug."

She nodded to the police officer, and he moved aside the barrier, letting Penelope run up to their sides. Stepping away from David, she let herself be swept up into an overwhelming hug. "It's gone."

"Things can be replaced."

"I know." It seemed like she would never stop crying, and Penelope tenderly threaded her fingers in her hair, pressing her head down onto her shoulder. "But it hurts so much."

"I know, precious." Tender lips pressed against her temple and she clung to Penelope all the tighter. "How about I take you two home with me?"

"You don't have a second bedroom, Kitten."

"The sofa turns into a pretty handy bed. Derek uses it all the time, tells me it's quite comfortable. And you two need someone to look after you."

She nodded before David could say another word. "Yes." Blindly, she reached out for her lover's hand, and sighed as he clasped it. "For one night, please, just let her take care of us. You've been taking care of me for so long. Let someone else carry that burden for ten hours."

"You're not a burden, bella."

"Yes, I am! You've taken so much time off work, and put your book on the back burner, and for what? To take care of me! Me, who is so weak and stupid and pitiful!" In the back of her mind, she knew that she was being overwrought, but the stress of the night made little niggling doubts magnify into disasters.

"Oh, Gum Drop, you are none of those things." She felt the hot splash of tears on her cheek and realized that Penelope was crying, too. "Come on, let's go." She took the bag from Erin's hand and tugged her towards the barricade. David slid his arm around her waist and she closed her eyes, letting herself be led over to the waiting car.

Somehow, she found herself in the backseat of Penelope's convertible, David curling himself around her body and holding her close as Penelope drove off into the early morning haze. "The sun is coming up already."

"A new day is dawning, bella."

"I hadn't realized what time it was," she murmured, snuggling in close, yawning deeply. "Don't let go of me."

"I hadn't planned on it, Erin." He dropped a gentle kiss to the top of her head and she sighed, curling her hand into the fabric of his chest. "I love you, so much."

"I love you, too." The drive to Penelope's apartment didn't take that long, and they somehow made it up the three flights of stairs to her door.

"When you wake up, we'll go by your house with the fire marshal, and see what is salvageable. And then we'll go shopping. All right?" Penelope's calm words were like a balm to her hurting soul, and Erin nodded, tearing up once more. "Oh, Gum Drop, do not cry. You break my heart every time I see those sweet tears."

"I'm sorry, they just won't seem to stop," she whispered as she slipped in next to David on the bed. Penelope leaned down and pulled the covers up around her neck before bending to place a soft kiss on her forehead.

"And I can get our boys to help move out anything that needs heavy lifting." Penelope knelt down on the floor, looking into Erin's eyes. "Your son might even help us out."

"My Brucie would probably do that." Penelope smiled and rested her chin on the mattress, watching her as she yawned. "Thank you for coming and taking care of us. I really do appreciate this."

"I would do anything for you, Erin, anything, after what Curtis did to you." Penelope picked up her hand and dragged her thumb down to find the infinity scar that marred her wrist. "I failed you once, I will not fail you again. Okay?"

Erin nodded, closing her eyes so that Penelope wouldn't notice them filling with tears. Behind her, she could hear David begin to snore slightly, the sound comforting her, lulling her into sleep. The last thing she felt was Penelope's lips grazing her forehead before she fell back asleep, safe in the presence of her beloved and their friend.


End file.
